MUSIC HISTORY FINAL REVIEW - 3:25:00 AM Middle...

08/05/2007 02:25:00 ← Middle Ages (400-1400 AD) ← Monks devised system of musical notation and copying (most other people were illiterate ← ← Benedictine Monks (established 547): • Strict code of conduct • Woke at 4 am for night office (matins), sang psalms • Returned at daybreak, sang another service for God • 9 am= MASS, high point of church day, commemorates suffering of Christ through communion ← ← GREGORIAN CHANT: • Named for Pope Gregory the Great (540-604) o Gregory wrote little or no Gregorian chant, was more an administrator than a musician o Gregory decreed that certain chants should be sung on certain days of liturgical year • Also called plainsong • Unaccompanied vocal music setting sacred Latin texts written for Roman Catholic church over 15 centuries • Sung by churchmen/women from beginning of Christianity till Council of Trent (1545-1563), which reformed the Church of Rome • Has NO METER, irregular rhythms (intended to encourage pious reflection, not dance)>>>timeless, otherworldly quality • Free of tension/drama • All voices sing in UNISON>>>MONOPHONIC (music for one line) • Male/female voices usually not mixed

This
preview
has intentionally blurred sections.
Sign up to view the full version.

• Uniform, monochromatic sound, very little contrast • Syllabic singing (only 1 or 2 notes for each syllable of text) o Often used to segue into melismatic singing (many notes sung for each syllable (happens in Hildegard’s O Greenest Branch ) • Overall effect of peace and serenity, disengages from tensions of world • Composers seen not as creators, but rather conduits for the voice of God ← ← CATHEDRAL MUSIC (1150-1350 = Age of Cathedrals) • Monastery was rural establishment, solitary, Cathedral was urban counterpart • During 12 th and 13 th centuries populations of European urban centers (Milan, Paris, London, etc) grew because of trade and commerce o Wealth from this growth channeled toward cathedral construction • Cathedrals acted as churches/seats of bishops but doubled as civic auditoriums • Gothic architecture started in France, radiated out to England, Spain, Italy, Germany, as far as Christian parts of Near East • France was also important intellectual/artistic center at this time, Paris was leading university town in Europe for arts and theology, spread teachings of Peter Abelard and Thomas Aquinas to foreign scholars • Cathedral of Notre Dame (Our Lady) of Paris spread musical influence in a similar way o Notre Dame started in 1160’s, completed over 100 years later o Inhabited by churchmen who were also philosophers, poets, MUSICIANS  Master Leoninus (1169-1201) was among them, as was Master

This is the end of the preview.
Sign up
to
access the rest of the document.